1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to dispensing and more particularly to aerosol dispensing devices incorporating a mounting cup or a closure for sealing with an aerosol container of the aerosol dispensing device.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
Aerosol containers and aerosol mounting cups have been so well known and so well established in the prior art that the basic shape and the basic dimensions of the aerosol containers and the mounting cups are standard in the aerosol industry. In the aerosol industry, an aerosol container is typically made of tin plated steel or aluminum and is provided with an opening in the container encircled by an annular bead for sealing with a peripheral rim formed in the mounting cup. The mounting cup receives an aerosol valve assembly for providing fluid communication between the interior of the aerosol container and the exterior of the aerosol container upon activation of the aerosol valve assembly by a user. The prior art has produced various types of aerosol valves, aerosol valve mechanisms, aerosol dispensing buttons, aerosol dispensing spouts, aerosol overcaps, and various other aerosol dispensing mechanisms for use with a variety of aerosol products as should be well known among those skilled in the art.
The aerosol valve mechanism and the mounting cup is typically fabricated at a valve assembly plant and shipped to a filling plant whereat the valve mechanism and mounting cup is sealed to the aerosol container with the aerosol product and the propellant retained therein. The mounting cup has a peripheral rim which is capable of being crimped to an annular bead located on the aerosol container to establish a seal between the mounting cup and the aerosol container. A plastic or rubber sealing material is located on the peripheral rim of the mounting cup for insuring the sealing engagement between the peripheral rim of the mounting cup and the annular bead of the aerosol container. The peripheral rim of the mounting cup is formed in a substantially inverted U-shaped configuration with the sealing material located in an interior space of the inverted U-shaped peripheral rim. The peripheral rim of the mounting cup is placed upon the annular bead of the aerosol container with the sealing material disposed therebetween. The mounting cup is then deformed or crimped by an expanding collet to bring the peripheral rim of the mounting cup into sealing engagement with the annular bead of the aerosol container.
In the past, numerous sealing materials and sealing devices have been proposed by the prior art for enhancing the seal between the peripheral rim of the mounting cup and the annular bead of the aerosol container. One of the first sealing materials utilized was a cured in place sealing material wherein a liquid sealing material was applied to an interior surface of the peripheral rim of the mounting cup. The liquid sealing material was cured through a sequence of curing ovens to evaporate volatile solvents from the liquid sealant material to leave a resilient residue on the interior surface of the peripheral rim for providing a fluid tight seal when the peripheral rim of the mounting cup was crimped to the annular bead of the aerosol container.
Others in the prior art have utilized mounting cups formed from a metallic sheet material which had been precoated or laminated with a plastic sealing material. As the mounting cup was formed from the laminated plastic and metallic sheet material, the laminated plastic sealing material was located within the peripheral rim of the mounting cup to provide a seal when the mounting cup was secured or crimped to the aerosol container.
Another proposal in the prior art for a mounting cup sealing material was the use of a preformed sleeve of plastic material which was inserted onto the peripheral rim of the mounting cup. The preformed sleeve of plastic material is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,198.
Another proposal in the prior art for a mounting cup sealing material is set forth in the Patent Cooperation Treaty Published Patent Application Ser. No. PCT/US83/01463 wherein a heated mounting cup was immersed within vessel containing plastic particulate material. A thin coating of the plastic particulate material was thereby affixed to the heated mounting cup. The mounting cup with the affixed thin coating of the plastic particulate material was then removed from the vessel and was heated to produce a uniform coating of plastic sealing material on the interior surface of the peripheral rim of the mounting cup.
Although various proposals have been made in the prior art to improve the seal between the peripheral rim of the mounting cup and the annular bead of the aerosol container, little or no effort has been under taken to improve the shape or configuration of the mounting cup. The seal between the peripheral rim of the mounting cup and the annular bead of the aerosol container remains of great concern to both the valve assembly plants and the filling plants since the seal between the mounting cup and the aerosol container must be capable of being gas-tight for a period of years. In addition, the seal between the mounting cup and the aerosol container must be low in cost to enable aerosol products to be competitive with non-aerosol products in the consumer market.
The problem is further complicated by the fact that the various sealing materials namely, the cured in place sealing material, the plastic sleeve material, the laminated plastic sealing material, and the plastic particulate sealing material all have different thickness which may vary beyond the normal tolerances of the mounting cup and the annular bead of the aerosol container. Furthermore, although quality control is paramount in the aerosol industry, the peripheral rims of the mounting cups manufactured by the valve assembly plants and the annular beads of the aerosol container manufactured by container plants have nominal variations which are within quality control limits. In some cases, the difference in thickness of the plastic sealing material and the nominal variations of the peripheral rim of the mounting cups and/or the annular beads of the container are compounded to produce a defective seal in a completed aerosol product which may remain undetected until discovered by the ultimate consumer.
Accordingly, it should be realized that the seal between the mounting cup and the aerosol container is of prime importance to the aerosol industry. Furthermore, since the size and the shape of the annular bead of the aerosol container and the size and the shape of the mounting cup have been virtually unchanged for more than twenty years, it is not surprising that substantially all of the effort to enhance the seal between the mounting cup and the aerosol container has been directed to the sealing material located between the aerosol container and the mounting cup.
Prior application Ser. No. 733,207 filed May 13, 1985 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,067, disclosed an improved mounting cup which provided an enhanced seal between the mounting cup and the annular bead of the container. U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,067 discloses a mounting cup having a unique shape which has solved the problems of leaking aerosol dispensing devices for all types of gasket materials. The incorporation of this unique shape in the mounting cup enabled the use of laminated plastic and metallic sheet material for mounting cups in mass production without the fear of unacceptable failures rates in the seal between the mounting cup and the aerosol container. Continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 862,282 filed May 12, 1986 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,576 further defined the unique shape of the mounting cup in terms of an aerosol filling process. The present application, proposes a reduction of material required to form the mounting cup which was heretofore unknown. The reduction of material required to form the mounting cup is now possible due to the enhanced seal between the mounting cup and the annular bead of the container as set forth in prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,067 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,813,576.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved mounting cup for sealing with a container of an aerosol device wherein the peripheral rim of the mounting cup comprises an improved inner region contour which is deformed when the mounting cup is crimped to the annular bead of the aerosol container.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved mounting cup for sealing with a container of an aerosol device wherein the improved inner region contour of the peripheral rim of the mounting cup allows only a portion of the peripheral rim to contact the annular bead of the container when the mounting cup is disposed on the container and which inner region contour of the peripheral rim is reformed to be substantially the same shape as the contour of the annular bead when the mounting cup is crimped to the aerosol container.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved mounting cup for sealing with a container of an aerosol device wherein the improved inner region contour of the peripheral rim of the mounting cup adjusts for variation of dimensions in the mounting cup peripheral rim and adjusts for variations in the dimensions in the annular bead of the container to provide a superior seal therebetween.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved mounting cup for sealing with a container of an aerosol device which is suitable for use with a preformed plastic sleeve material, a laminated sealing material and a plastic particulate sealing material.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved mounting cup for sealing with a container of an aerosol device which comprises a new mounting cup shape in which the peripheral rim of the mounting cup is void of an outer region contour.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved mounting cup for sealing with a container of an aerosol device wherein the improved mounting cup may be used with conventional crimping equipment in the aerosol industry.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved mounting cup for sealing with a container of an aerosol device wherein the peripheral rim of the improved mounting cup has an initial shape substantially different from the shape of the annular bead of the container and which peripheral rim is reformed during the crimping process to have substantially the same shape as the annular bead of the aerosol container.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved mounting cup for sealing with a container of an aerosol device which is suitable for use with most existing aerosol valves.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved mounting cup for sealing with a container of an aerosol device wherein the improved mounting cup provides a superior seal independent of the sealing material with less cost in the fabrication of the mounting cup.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved method for forming a seal between a mounting cup and a container of an aerosol device wherein the crimping of the mounting cup reforms the peripheral rim of the mounting cup to be substantially the same shape as the contour of the annular bead of the aerosol container to provide a sealing engagement between the mounting cup and the aerosol container.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved method for forming a seal between a mounting cup and a container of an aerosol device wherein the mounting cup provides a material savings over the prior art mounting cups.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the present invention. These objects should be construed as being merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention with in the scope of the invention. Accordingly other objects in a full under standing of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention, the detailed description describing the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.